Effect of Chronic Treatment with Desoxycorticosterone on the Dipsogenic Response of Rats to Isoproterenol and Angiotensin

Abstract

Administration of desoxycorticosterone (DOC) at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg/day to male rats for 6 weeks attenuated significantly the drinking response to acute subcutaneous administration of 5, 10 and 20 μg isoproterenol/kg body weight. Chronic administration of DOC did not prevent the drinking response to acute intraperitoneal administration of angiotensin II (200 μg/kg body weight). In contrast, the drinking response was enhanced compared with that of control rats given angiotensin II acutely. While attenuation of the drinking response to isoproterenol in DOC-treated rats may be attributed to depletion of renin from their kidneys, the mechanisms responsible for the enhanced drinking response to angiotensin II are not clearly understood.